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ASU Libraries

The libraries at Arizona State University are placing emphasis on making their services available in a variety of ways, thoroughly embracing the concept of “Library 2.0”. ASU Library home page features prominent links to many resources that could be considered to be a part of the 2.0 movement. The right side of the page features a large banner that shuffles through links to connect with the ASU Libraries on Facebook, to live chat with librarians, among others. There are also multiple links to the ASU Libraries mobile site, and along the bottom more links to ASU Libraries’ Facebook, Twitter and RSS Feeds. While the webpage also lists many of the library’s more traditional resources, the placement of these links everywhere shows their commitment to providing users access in their medium of choice.

the ASU library homepage

The “library channel” page even more prominently features Library 2.0 services. Along the top, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, flickr, vimeo and iTunes U are all listed as resources. Taking a closer look at the video resources offered, both the Youtube and vimeo pages offer a kind of vodcast that ASU calls “Library Minutes”. These are short, one-minute videos highlighting news and useful tips for taking advantage of the library’s services. Similar resources are offered by the iTunes U page, which has many podcasts and videos available for download. These podcasts and vodcasts let library users’ access information not only from their computers, but from mobile devices such as smartphones and iPods. With so much reading and studying to do already, students may prefer videos and other multimedia as an alternative to more textual information.

the library channel at ASU

Through well-established channels of communication (Youtube, vimeo, iTunes, etc.), ASU Libraries is offering resources that are generally accepted as the most effective way to reach users in a Library 2.0 context. In survey results featured on Michael Stephens site tametheweb, libraries listed “Social Networking” and “Online Videos” as the services perceived to be the most successful in promotions. Considering that university students are often privileged enough to have access to mobile devices like smartphones and laptops, I would consider the ASU Libraries’ efforts to provide 2.0 services an effective marketing strategy. Through the prominent and multiple placements of links to these services, and the choice to use services already familiar to most users, ASU Libraries provides a variety of ways to access their information. One improvement might be to clean up their home page, by collecting these 2.0 services in some kind of category (perhaps in the drop down menus along the top); as it stands, the page is visually appealing but confusing, as it is somewhat difficult to locate the links to different sites.